Therapeutic device



Nov. 3, 1959 B. J. JETER ff THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Filed Feb. 13, 1958 W M m/Mf y d f m 1 7 M A 4 l /m A, X CQ 6 CSQQQ .y @Wfmmx E d QCS; Um 7. w A@ m @5F23 #53C A y @95h52 f mum g X X VK 3% j l, C2@ @@mg. -5 -A xx 4 f .J 5 1 6 6 2 .M

United States Patent YC) My invention relates to therapeutic devices and more particularly to an innerspring support, or mattress, 1n-

corporating means for generating and imparting to a reclining subject, oscillatory vibrations for producing on the subject sensations of a pleasant and relaxing nature.

It is a general object of my invention to provide an improved therapeutic mattress.

Another object of my invention is to provide a thera- Y peutic mattress incorporating an improved vibration transmission arrangement.

Another object of my invention is to provide a therapeutic mattress wherein vibrations are transmitted effectively and more directly to the subject.

Another object of my invention is to provide a therapeutic mattress having a more effective vibrator harness arrangement. 1

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description taken in accordance with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of the therapeutic mattress in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention, with the mattress padding removed;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the mattress of Fig. l, with the mattress side padding and covering removed;

Fig. 3l Vis an enlarged end elevational view of the vibrator motor and mounting therefor;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section view taken at lines 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing details of a portion of the vibrator harness; and,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of a portion of the vibrator mattress.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an inner spring mattress 11, made up of coil springs 13, upper and lower frames 15, 17, helical transverse tie wires 19, coil spring clips 21, and padding 23. The coil springs 13 are arranged in rows, with the spring centers in each row on a common line. The upper and lower frames 15, 17 each consist of a stii heavy gauge wire formed to make a rectangular enclosure. The coil springs fill in the rectangular enclosure formed by the upper and lower frames. The coil springs 13 are secured in spaced position by clips 21 and by the helical transverse tie wires 19. For convenience, the left hand side of the mattress 11 as seen in Fig. 1 will be herein referred to as the head of the mattress; the right hand side as seen in Fig. l will be referred to as the foot; and the upper and lower sides as seen in Fig. l as left and right sides, respectively. Adjacent coil spring sides in the mattress `transverse direction are mutually secured by the clips 21, while adjacent coil spring sides in the longitudinal direction are mutually secured by a respective helical tie.

wire 19 which is threaded around the respective coil spring sides and secured at its ends to the mattress frame wire. The coil springs 13 are secured in the plane of the lower frame 17 in the same manner as in the plane of the upper frame 15.

The mattress is covered by the usual i A 2,910,977 v Patented Nov- 3, 195? type padding 23 which is secured'by button ties 25. The mattress as thus far described is of a conventional type. It is of course understood that other conventional type innerspring mattresses may beA adapted to incorporate the features of my invention.

The vibrator motor assembly and mount comprises a motor 27, a base plate 29, an end plate 31, an eccentric weight 33, a cover 35, upper andV lower base plate support members 37, 39, power cord 41, and timer control device 43. vA base plate 29 is a flat rectangular plate of sufficient length to accommodate the cover 35, and of 'height just less than the distance between the mattress upper and lower frames 15, 17. Y The motor 27 is secured to the base plate 29 by bolts 45. The motor 27 is mounted on the base plate 29 so that its shaftV axis is parallel to the base plate length. The end Aplate 31 is rectangular and carries an outwardly extending ange 47 at one end, and an opening at the upper end portion. The end plate 31 is fixed to the end of the motor 27 with the end plate opening surrounding the motor output shaft 49. The end plate ange 47 is secured to the base plate by bolts 51. The eccentric weight 33 is simply a piece of metal which has the shape of a closed U in plan, and which carries a bore at the center of the radii of the U, which opening is received on the motor output shaft 49 and keyed thereto. V-The'cover 35 is in the form ofa U shaped trough with an outwardly extending flange 53 at the open end thereof. The cover surrounds themotor assembly and is secured to the base plate by bolts 55. The upper and lower base plate support members 37, 39 are made of light angle iron stock of length which is approximately three-fifths of the mattress width. The upper angle member 37 is positionedso that the upper frame wire 15 is adjacent the member apex and within the angle and one side of the angle is parallel to the plane of the upper frame and extending inwardly, While the other side is parallel to the plane of the mattress end. The angle member 37 is held in this position'by crimping it to the frame wire 15 at intervals, as shown at 57. The lower angle member 39 is positioned and crimped on the lower frame wire 17 in the same manner as for the upper angle member 37. The angle members 37, 39 are centered on the mattress longitudinal center line. Two coil springs are omitted at the center foot of the mattress, leaving space to accommodate the motor assembly, which is secured to adjacent sides of the angle members 37 39 by bolts 59.

The upper angle member 37 serves also as a vibrator harness foot terminal suport. The vibrator harness is also provided with left and right harness head terminal supports 61, 63. Each head terminal support is a short piece of angle iron crimped at 65 to the upper frame wire and disposed complementary to the upper foot angle member 37. Each head terminal support 61, 63 Y is centered approximately on points halfway between the center and a respective edge of the mattress head. Each head terminal support 61, 63 is provided with seven terminal holes 67 juxtaposed in its upper side. The foot terminal member 37 is provided with a group of seven juxtaposed terminal holes adjacent each end portion of its upper side. A harness center tie rod 69 is disposed on the mattress transverse center line in the plane of the upper frame 15 and is secured at its ends to the upper frame at 71, 73. The harness wires are disposed in the plane of the upper frame in the general configuration of a pair of diamond shaped hammocks. The center or rst harness wire for each'hamrnock extends from the center hole of a respective head terminal 61, 63 in a straight line parallel to the mattress longitudinal center line to the central hole of a respective foot terminal 37. The second and third harness wires 77, 79 are on opposite side of the rst harness wire and diverge from the respective head terminals 61, 63 to the center tie rod 69, and

then converge to the foot terminal 37. The fourth and fifth harness wire 81, 83 are also on opposite sides of the'y first harness wire and diverge outwardly of the second and third harness wires from the head terminal to the center tie rod and then converge toward the second and third harness wires from the center tie rod to the foot terminal. The sixth and seventh harness wires 85, 87 diverge outwardly of the fourth and fifth harness wires from the respective head terminal to the center tie rod and then converge toward the fourth and fifth harness wires from the center tie rod to the foot terminal. The harness wires may be secured to the terminals in any suitable manner, as for example, see Fig. 5. Each harness wire is also secured to the center tie rod 69. This may be done by means of clips, metal joining, and various other means. It is desirable in most cases to allow the harness wire to make a turn around the center tie rod. Each harness wire may be threaded over and under the coil springs as shown by Fig. 6. Alternatively, the harness wires may be clipped at intervals to the coil springs. In the interest of quietness of operation, it may be desirable to use wire having a non-metallic coating for the harness wire. The harness wire should have a high tensile strength and should be resistant to vibration fatigue. For example, piano wire would be satisfactory.

The electric motor 27 may, for example, be a con- VVentional single phase, 110 volt, 1750 r.p.m. motor of about 1%0 horsepower. The eccentric weight 33 can of course take various shapes, and its weight and shape can be selected to yield the desired amplitude of vibrations. The power cord 41 extends from the motor 27 to the timer Vdevice 43 and from the timer device to a conventional plug 89. The timer device maybe of the windup type, preferably with about a half hour scale, and operates'to shut off the motor when a selected time period has elapsed.

In operation of the therapeutic mattress of my invention, the subject merely assumes a reclining position with his body centered on one of the hammocks, and then turns the timer on to a chosen time interval. The rotating eccentric weight on the motor shaft generates oscillatory vibrations which are transmitted via the motor frame an-d the end plate to the base plate and from the base plate to the foot angle members. The vibrations are also transmitted directly from the upper foot angle member (or foot harness terminal) to the harness wires. The hammock type harness serves to distribute the Vibrations in a very effective pattern, with the result that the generated vibrations are efficiently utilized to produce pleasant relaxing sensations on the subject.

It will be seen that the entire motor assembly fits into the mattress fiush with the mattress end surface, and may be installed or removed as a unit by merely fastening or unfastening the base plate support bolts 59. The cover insures against soiling the mattress with motor grease; keeps foreign matter out of the motor; reduces the operating noise level; and eliminates any fire hazard. The cover may be coated with asbestos material if desired, and the base plate may be provided with air vents. Channel iron stock may be used instead of angle iron stock for the harness terminal supports if desired, and the harness wires may be terminated directly on the head of the upper frame wire, if desired. Also the harness wires may be looped a turn around the springs at intervals, instead of being clipped or passed over and under, and when the harness wires are looped on the springs the center tie rod is not essential.

It is to be understood that a single hammock vibrator harness may be used if desired, and may be the most desirable for the case of smaller size mattresses. Although in the drawings I have shown vibrator harnesses made up of only seven wires each, this number is not critical, and more wires could be used if desired.

While I have shown my invention in only one form, 1t will be obvious to those Skilld il? lh@ @It that .ii is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A therapeutic mattress comprising an upper and a lower frame each made up of stiff heavy gauge wire in the form of a closed rectangle, a plurality of coil springs disposed in rows within said frames, with the coil spring ends in the plane of a respective frame, means for securing said coil springs in their respective positions, an electric motor having an eccentric weight fixed on the motor output shaft, a motor base plate, means for mounting said motor on said base plate, upper and lower base plate support members, each said member being in the form of an angle bar crimped at intervals onto a respective frame wire at the mattress foot and centrally disposed with respect to the mattress longitudinal center, each said member having length equal to approximately three fifths of the mattress width, means for fixing said motor base plate to adjacent faces of said support members, a pair of head angle members crimped to said upper frame wire at the head of said mattress, each said head angle member being centered on a point -approximately halfway between the mattress longitudinal center and a respective mattress side, a vibrator harness center tie rod extending along the transverse center of said mattress in the plane of said upper frame and secured at its ends to respective sides of said upper frame, a pair of central harness wires each secured to and extending from the center of a respective head angle member perpendicular to said center tie rod to a respective end portion of said upper base plate support member, a plurality of harness wires secured to a respective head angle member and diverging from a respective center harness Wire to said center tie rod and then converging to a respective upper base plate support member end portion, each said harness wire being xed at its center portion to said center tie rod, said harness wires forming a pair of juxtaposed hammock configurations, and means forenergizing said motor.

2. A therapeutic device comprising an inner spring mattress made up of generally helical coil springs disposed side by side within a frame, a vibrator harness made up of a plurality of harness wires fixed at their ends to opposite upper end portions of said frame and spread apart at `their center portions in a generally diamond-shaped pattern to form a hammock configuration, means fixing said harness wires to Ysome of said springs, an electric motor having an eccentric weight on its output shaft, means fixing said motor relative to said frame, and means for energizing said motor.

3. In a mattress of the type having top and bottom faces, a plurality of coil springs disposed side by side with corresponding ends kin a common plane parallel to said top and bottom faces, and with the corresponding ends of adjacent springs tied together to form a resilient unit, padding on said corresponding ends, and a textile housing enclosing said padding and resilient unit, that irnprovement which comprises a vibrator harness in the plane of the upper ends of said springs, said harness being made up of a plurality of harness wires fixed to the frame of said mattress at the ends thereof and spread apart at their center portions to form a generally diamond-shaped hammock configuration, a relatively rigid element fixed to the upper frame of said mattress at one end thereof, a rigid base member fixed to said element, and means fixed to said base member for imparting thereto gyratory impulses of small amplitudeV about an axis parallel to the end faces of said unit.

4. In a .mattress of the type having top and bottom faces and an upper and a lower frame, a plurality of coil springs disposed side by side with corresponding ends iu a common plane parallel to said top and bottom faces and including said respective frames, and with the corresponding ends of adjacent springs tied together yand to a respective frame to form a resilient unit, padding on said corresponding ends, and a textile housing enclosing said padding and resilient unit, that improvement which comprises a center tie rod extending transversely across the center of said unit and xed at its ends to the sides of said upper frame, a vibrator harness in the plane'of the upper ends of said springs, said harness being made up of a plurality of harness Wires xed vto said upper frame and extending the length of said unit, said harness wires being spread apart at their center portions and each xed to said tie rod to form a plurality of concentric diamonds of common length, means for generating gyratory irn-k 10' 2,852,021

pulses of small amplitude about an axis parallel to the' end faces of said unit, and means for mounting said generating means within said unit at one end portion thereof, with said generating means fixed relative to said upper frame.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Tompkins v f Aug. 12,- 1947 Jessup i Sept, 16, 1958 

